BYU beats Baylor 3-2 to claim 2026 Big 12 Tournament Championship

MANSFIELD, Texas — No. 14 BYU women’s soccer (13-3-5, 8-1-2 Big 12) defeated No. 7 Baylor 3-2 on Saturday evening to claim the Big 12 Soccer Tournament championship.

Senior forward Mattyn Summers-Oviatt scored her second brace of the season, while Bella Woods converted a penalty kick for her fourth goal of the year. Junior Lucy Kesler recorded her fifth assist in the victory.

With tonight’s win, BYU became the first team since West Virginia in 2013 and 2014 to win back-to-back conference tournament championships. The Cougars also became the first team to sweep the conference regular-season and tournament titles since TCU in 2021.

Following the victory, Summers-Oviatt won the 2026 Big 12 Soccer Tournament Offensive Most Outstanding Offensive Player and goalkeeper Chelsea Peterson earned her second-straight Big 12 Soccer Tournament Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

The Big 12 All-Tournament Team was also announced, and Avery Frischknecht, Mika Krommenhoek, Peterson and Summers-Oviatt represented the Cougars.

The Cougars entered the match ranked No. 20 in the NCAA RPI, while Baylor held the No. 3 spot nationally.

First Half

BYU’s offense came out aggressive, recording two shots in the first three minutes of play. The Cougars also earned the match’s first corner kick in the fourth minute.

Mia Goettsche and Afton Perry had back-to-back shots blocked inside the 18-yard box in the fifth minute.

The Cougars maintained possession and held Baylor without a shot through the first 15 minutes of play.

In the 16th minute, the Bears sent a ball over BYU’s backline, creating a one-on-one opportunity against goalkeeper Peterson, who came off her line to make the save.

BYU nearly took the lead in the 22nd minute when Goettsche and Emma Hamberlin connected in the box, but the play was called offside.

Baylor responded with an opportunity on goal, missing just wide right of the post.

In the 26th minute, BYU earned its third corner kick of the match. Baylor cleared the ball out of the box, but only as far as Kesler, who fired a left-footed shot off the crossbar. Summers-Oviatt was there to collect the ricochet, sliding the ball past the goalkeeper to give BYU a 1-0 lead.

The teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the first half. In the final seconds, Baylor sent a cross into the box for a header, but Peterson tipped the ball just over the crossbar to keep the Bears off the scoreboard through the first 45 minutes.

BYU outshot Baylor 8-7 in the first half, putting three shots on frame compared to the Bears’ two.

Second Half

Just 45 seconds into the second half, Krommenhoek took a shot from inside the 18-yard box that struck a Baylor defender’s arm. The referee called a handball, awarding BYU a penalty kick.

Woods stepped up to take the penalty kick, placing it in the lower-left corner of the net to extend BYU’s lead to 2-0.

In the 55th minute, Baylor broke through the BYU defense and sent a one-touch shot into the lower-right corner of the net to cut the Cougars’ lead to 2-1.

Krommenhoek sent a ball across the face of the goal in the 59th minute, which Hamberlin flicked just over the crossbar. Five minutes later, Perry took a shot from the top of the 18-yard box that also sailed just over the crossbar.

Goettsche took her second shot of the match in the 71st minute, backing down her defender before turning and firing a left-footed shot from inside the six-yard box just wide of the left post.

In the 76th minute, Krommenhoek found Goettsche in the box, who fired a shot that was deflected on the goal line. For the second time in the match, Summers-Oviatt was there to clean up the play, putting the ball in the net to give BYU a 3-1 lead.

The Bears responded just two minutes later with a goal of their own, cutting BYU’s lead to 3-2.

With four minutes remaining, the Bears pushed numbers forward in search of an equalizer, but the BYU defense held strong to close out the 3-2 victory and secure the championship.

BYU now awaits its NCAA seeding which will be announced during the selection show on Monday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. CT. with live-streaming on NCAA.com.

2026 Big 12 Soccer All-Tournament Team

GK Azul Alvarez, BYU
GK Chelsea Peterson, BYU (Most Outstanding Defensive Player)
D Natalie Vatter, Baylor
D Avery Frischknecht, BYU
D Faith Leyba, Colorado
MF Aryanna Jimison, Baylor
MF Noelle Sather, Baylor
MF Mika Krommenhoek, BYU
F Grace White, Baylor
F Mattyn Summers-Oviatt, BYU (Most Outstanding Offensive Player)
F Hope Leyba, Colorado
F Taylor Zdrojewski, Texas Tech